SEC-8 - INNER CITY LANDLords/Investors - VIEW this

[Cameron Riley]

Just finishing my open house with another list of prospective tenants I had received from Zillow... I have a few questions for my fellow city investors...

- What has helped you find the most quality/qualified tenants?

- How High have you set the criteria for applying If ANY criteria was set?

- Do you enjoy the urban markets/inner city?

[Jill F.]

Low income rentals require different expectations. In higher end rentals your "stick" is the ability to trash a credit score if the tenant fails to play by the rules; this stick doesn't work with low income rentals. Almost all applicants will already have crappy credit-- even the kids just starting out (because all to often their parents opened utility accounts in the kids name because they had a heat emergency and they needed to get around their own bad credit). In low income, your stick is the security deposit... never ever let someone in without a cash security deposit.  It's very difficult for most low income tenants to get up both rent and the security deposit at the same time. So when you want someone out, an offer of an on the spot security refund for a nice clean place is a carrot they will almost always take. (I require clean ovens too).  In low income housing the carrot is more important than the stick: rent clean, nice looking units. Keep advion and contrac blox available at all times. Have a handyman, an hvac guy, and a plumbing company and actually fix problems (and you'll be providing vastly better service than most landlords renting low income housing.) Most importantly, have a flexible late policy that punishes failure to communicate and rewards tenants that are trying to pay even if they are late. (never let anyone get behind a whole month).

I'm currently trying honestrenter.com instead of a credit report. The first tenant I picked with that tool, so far seems to be a winner. I wait for a strong work history and adequate income.